Improved boot and shoe holder



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.,

\ JAMES ELLISON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED BOOT AND SHOE HOLDER.

specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 48,80 l, dated July 1s, isos To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES ELLIsoN, ot Boston,lin the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Boot and Shoe Holder; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description ofthe construction and operation of the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, for ming a part ot' this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation ofthe whole apparatus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the lever B; and Fig.3is a similar view of the fixed arm A, with which the said lever is connected.

Like parts are indicated by the sameletters in all the drawings.

The purpose of my invention is to hold a boot or shoe iirmly in a convenient position while it is being brushed or polished, enabling the operator to use both hands at once, or a brush in either hand, instead of holding the boot or shoe in the usual manner with one hand and wielding a single brush with the other, whereby the operation of brushing, polishing, or cleaning boots and shoes is greatly facilitated; and the nature of my improvement consists in. the employment ot' a curved arm, A, long enough to reach from the sole ot' a boot to the top of the leg, and permanently attached to the side of a room or other suitable stationary article, in combination with a lever, B, provided with a last-shaped foot, b, a handle, K,

. and a ratchet, C, to operate in connection with aweighted or self-acting pa\vl,D, the said arm and lever being so constructed as to be readily inserted in a boot or shoe and afterward eX- panded, so as to hold it firmly in the most conto describe the construction and operation of the same.

A is au arm, of cast-iron or other suitable material, the general shape ot' which is clearly shown in Figs. l and 3, the lower end, a, being shaped somewhat like the heel of a last, and the upper end provided with a cleat or ange, L, having holes j j j j, through which screws maybe passed and driven into theside of a room or other suitable fixture or stationary article, whereby the arm is rigidly confined in any required position.

B is a lever, ot' castiron or other suitable material, shaped as clearly shown in Figs. and 2, the lower end, b, being in the form of a portion of a last, the upper end being provided with a handle, A, and aratchet, O, (which may be cast in one piece with the lever.) Near the center ot' this lever B are earsff, (see Figs. l and 3,) between which is fitted the tenen g, h being a fulcrum -pin passing through said ears and tenon, as represented in Fig. l.

Through the upper portion of the arm A is a slot for the reception of the ratchet O and the pawl I), the latter turning freely ou theA pivot i, and weightedso as to force its lower end into the teeth ot' the said ratchet. The pawl might,howcver,be forced upon theratchet by means of a spring.

The operation ot' the apparatus is as follows: The lower ends, b and a, ofthe arm and lever being brought toward each other so as to contract-the foot .or skeleton last formed by the two, the boot or shoe is placed upon it, as on a persons foot, when the operator, pressing the handle K toward the arm A, forces the ends a and b apart, so as to till the foot or" the boot or shoe, and thereby hold it firmly in place. Aboot or shoe thus held can be brushed or polished with much greater ease and rapidity than when held by the operator in the usual manner. Putting the boot or shoe onto the apparatus and taking it off are the work of a moment.

Having thus described the construction and operation of myinvention, whatIclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A boot and shoe holder consisting of the fixed ai m A,pivoted lever B, handle K, ratchet C, and pawl D, or their equivalents, constructed, combined, and operating substantially as set forth, and for the purpose described.

JAMES ELLISON.

Vilnesses N. AMES, GEO. R. CLARKE. 

